The article by Ann Swidler challenges the traditional view that culture shapes action by providing ultimate values or ends, arguing instead that culture influences action through a repertoire of habits, skills, and styles, which people use to construct "strategies of action." Swidler develops two models of cultural influence: one for settled cultural periods and another for unsettled periods. In settled periods, culture independently influences action by providing resources for diverse actions, while in unsettled periods, explicit ideologies govern action, but structural opportunities determine which ideologies survive. The paper critiques the traditional model of cultural influence, which assumes that culture shapes action by supplying ultimate values, and offers an alternative model that focuses on the causal role of culture in constructing strategies of action. It suggests that culture's causal significance lies in providing cultural components that are used to construct strategies of action, rather than defining the ends of action. The paper also discusses the limitations of using values as an explanatory variable and proposes new research approaches based on this revised understanding of cultural influence.The article by Ann Swidler challenges the traditional view that culture shapes action by providing ultimate values or ends, arguing instead that culture influences action through a repertoire of habits, skills, and styles, which people use to construct "strategies of action." Swidler develops two models of cultural influence: one for settled cultural periods and another for unsettled periods. In settled periods, culture independently influences action by providing resources for diverse actions, while in unsettled periods, explicit ideologies govern action, but structural opportunities determine which ideologies survive. The paper critiques the traditional model of cultural influence, which assumes that culture shapes action by supplying ultimate values, and offers an alternative model that focuses on the causal role of culture in constructing strategies of action. It suggests that culture's causal significance lies in providing cultural components that are used to construct strategies of action, rather than defining the ends of action. The paper also discusses the limitations of using values as an explanatory variable and proposes new research approaches based on this revised understanding of cultural influence.